Plenty of Fish in the Sea

Review by David Cox

I normally like to start and end an Edinburgh festival itinerary with strong looking shows, usually from performers that I know. This involves spending a lot of time perusing the Fringe brochure, I am a creature of habit and prefer the hard copy option, picking shows that interest me.

To be honest I missed Plenty of Fish In the Sea until Clockfire Theatre company sent me an intriguing looking video and I was hooked, a little like the fish featured in the show.

I didn't know what to expect, which is the whole point of watching a show but I was quickly mesmerized by the three magnetic performers, Emily Ayoub, Madeleine Bathurst and Christopher Carroll.

We begin with a striking image of a woman pulling her load across the stage, the first of many scenes that could be a beautiful painting. We then soon meet her silent companion and watch them fish until they pull an unexpected catch.

For me the best kind of theatre is when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and this is the joy of this piece. Some of the set pieces are truly stunning and there are plenty of surprises, including an unexpectedly rude scene.

This was the perfect way to start our festival which not only did I thoroughly enjoy but I could then relax as I knew we were going to have another wonderful festival, which we are.